Thank you to everyone who is faithfully plugging along each week with this challenge. I don’t have any pictures to share with you this week since I have been out of town. I decided that since I don’t have pictures I would just talk a little bit about why I think it is important to keep a clean and clutter free home.
Before I start I want to say that I do not think that having a clean home makes you a better person. I do think having a clean home makes you a more organized person and can save you money and time. I know that for me, when the clutter gets out of control it takes me longer to do everything because I am constantly searching for the tools needed to complete the project. And if I can’t find what I am looking for, I end up buying what I need.
If my pantry is a wreck, I tend to buy things at the store that I already have (and maybe not on sale) because I couldn’t find the missing ingredient. Then, when I clean out my pantry and find 5 bags of powdered sugar I realize that if my pantry had been organized I wouldn’t have purchase powdered sugar when I didn’t need it.
The same concept works for every area of your home. If things in your home are not organized and you are probably buying things you already have and don’t need.
Living a clutter free life will also save you time. If you have to search for your keys every time you leave the house, you are wasting time. For me it is my purse. My bag is always filled with stuff I really should just toss or file. When I want to find something in my purse I end up searching for several minutes before I can find it! Pitching the excess stuff in my purse would only take me a few minutes every week, but yet I continue to let it build up and complicate my life.
I once read that when a piece of paper comes into your home, if you don’t take care of it immediately (file, trash, take action etc…) you will touch that piece of paper 40 more times before you actually take care of it! Ugh! Let’s stop that habit and get organized! Let’s get our homes organized so we can save time and money the second half of this year.
I know with my upcoming move and all the packing I have come across numerous items that I should have pitched long ago, but have been hanging on to, for no reason. I have a busy week ahead, (we officially move on Saturday) and I am sure a lot of pitching. Look for lots of pictures next Monday!
Now it is time to link up your Itch to Pitch post.
Remember link to your Itch to Pitch post and not your blog’s homepage. Also please link back to The Happy Housewife, so others who read your blog will be able to participate, the more the merrier, right? Finally, please visit the other Clutter Queens who link up and give them some encouragement. We all love comments!
I also started an Itch to Pitch thread in my discussion forum. Feel free to ask questions, share your favorite organizing sites, or tell me why you love clutter, lol!
paula says
I 100% agree with everything you have said in this latest post. I can not stand clutter….I have even gone as far as to write an inventory of what is in my pantries,freezers and fridge so I know what I have and I cross out as I use it and add that item to my standing grocery list on the front of the fridge. I know I have some places that I need to tackle whihc we will be in the next few weeks after the extra 3 move out of the house…
Emily E. says
I need to get a blog so I can participate more fully in things like this…
Anyway- I had a great Itch to Pitch weekend! We are going to be moving sometime later this year, and in preparation for that we are starting to get our house sell-ready. I spent just an hour or so Saturday morning and managed to come up with a huge pile of clothes, purses, etc to donate to the Salvation Army- probably enough to fill 2-3 large trash bags. And last night, my husband cleaned out our pantry and tossed lots of stuff that was out of date, stale, etc. yay for getting rid of the clutter! 😀
Bridgett says
All too true! At the end of Christmas I realized I had 5 bags of flour not opened! I just kept buying flour from baking so much and not checking w/what I had. It most def. saves time & money – like library fines! LoL
Katena Dyser says
We are having our preinspection today and we have went through everything and the house is clean. I hate clutter also. Also being almost 9 months pregnant hubby is doing most of the cleaning as I can not do it. We cleaned out our pantry and found we had a whole trashcan of wasted food neighbor gave it to me when she moved and we did not check the dates. Also we have a move after hubby comes back and everything needs to be done. Thank god for hubby and doing everything.
Heather says
Great post – and timely! I am in the middle of getting ready for a garage sale this week and have come across much stuff I have touched numerous times over the years. May this be the last time – next stop = Salvation Army!
I agree – clutter has many effects – all of which are negative. Many blessings to you as you move into your new home. 🙂
Serenity says
I grew up an Air Force brat and we moved 15 times by the time I was 18. Our home was ALWAYS clutter free:) As an adult I have had a hard time keeping the clutter at bay. I used the FlyLady system for a few years but after baby number 3 I never quite bounced back… I have a laundry basket in my bedroom full of “stuff” that had no home after our move 4 months ago. You have motivated me to finally tackle it!!! Thanks for the reminder 🙂
Rebecca C says
I just checked some food in my pantry and I have 3 large bottles of oil to use before the end of the month, plus 4 jars of parmesan cheese in jar that should have been used in April. That will teach me to buy 5 jars when they go on sale. We tried one jar and it appears fine, so we have to see how much we can use before it starts smelling or tasting bad.
Bree says
Last week while my husband was on vacation we tackled our closet. We are former military and that has always forced us to get rid of stuff as we moved. We have been in our house for about 2 1/2 years now, that is the longest we have lived anywhere so it time to purge like we would if we WERE moving! We were seriously brutal getting rid of stuff! I swear we probably got rid of 80 pounds of clothes and stuff we had shoved in there. Now I need to take a closer look at what I put in my closet. If I feel I need to shove stuff in my large closet then maybe it just needs to go instead of putting off making the decision of getting rid of it till later!
Amy says
That’s a great post. We used to move a lot and that kept me motivated to pitch stuff. Now that we bought our house I’m having a harder time staying on top of stuff. Add in 6 kids of both genders (most of our moving around was done when we only had girls but now I have bins of boy stuff too). My goal this month is to list a ton on ebay and drop off one load at the thrift store. I have a bunch of homeschool books and fabric worth a fair amount I have an easier time parting with if I’m getting some cash for it.
Anne-Marie says
Did more pitching this past week, but didn’t get around to blogging about it. I was on a roll tackling paper clutter until my shredder broke…again. I apparently outsmarted it’s “Jam-Free” abilities.
I turned my attn to my bedroom closet where I had stacked a bunch of old homeschool stuff several months ago. I pitched a lot & it needed to be done.
Now I am back to my desk area…making slow but steady progress. And a hard drive crash gave me a good reason to create a better filing hierarchy for my files.
Hip Mama says
Funny thing is, I actually DID do my pantry this past weekend and have the B4 and after pictures to prove it…just didn’t have a chance to post it this monday…so I’ll just wait. Anyway enjoying the Itch to Pitch. Blogging about it is keeping me motivated.
L2L says
so you have to come by and see what I pitched this week!!!!!! Your daughter will be envious!!!!